How to clone a Jira ticket automatically or on demand with Elements Copy & Sync

When managing projects or service requests in Jira, teams often need to clone a Jira ticket, whether to generate linked issues for development, reproduce recurring tasks, or mirror requests across projects. But if you’ve ever relied on Jira’s built-in clone feature or complex rules, you’ve probably realized how limited and time-consuming it can be.

That’s where Elements Copy & Sync comes in. This powerful app takes ticket duplication to the next level, allowing teams to clone Jira tickets automatically or on demand, while keeping data aligned across issues. Whether you want to trigger the clone manually, via an automation rule, or as part of a workflow function, this solution gives you complete control and flexibility.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• What Elements Copy & Sync is and why it’s better than native rules,
• How to clone Jira tickets using recipes,
• The three trigger modes: manual, automation-based, and post-function, with use cases and step-by-step instructions.

What is Elements Copy & Sync?

It’s a Jira app that allows users to clone and link issues automatically between projects or teams, while maintaining synchronization of fields, comments, and attachments.

Unlike Jira’s basic “Clone” feature or complex rule setups, the add-on offers a recipe-based system: you configure it once and reuse it every time you need to clone and link tickets. Each recipe defines:

• What gets cloned (fields, attachments, comments, subtasks, and more),
• How synchronization works between the original and duplicated tickets,
• Who can trigger the duplication and under what conditions.

This makes it ideal for organizations where customer support, development, and operations teams work in connected Jira projects and need to share data seamlessly.

Why Jira Automation rules aren’t enough?

While Jira rules can reproduce issues, they have several limitations:

❌ They’re complex to maintain for large-scale configurations.

❌ Synchronization between issues isn’t native, you need separate rules for updates.

❌ Performance can degrade with multiple nested configurations.

❌ It’s hard to make exceptions or give teams manual control when needed.

❌ You’ll quickly hit executions limits.

In contrast, Elements Copy & Sync is built specifically for cloning Jira tickets. It centralizes your duplication logic into reusable recipes, reducing maintenance and improving performance. You can easily:

✅ Control permissions and triggers,

✅ Keep fields automatically aligned,

✅ Reuse the same recipe across different projects.

In short: it simplifies copying operations that would otherwise require multiple complex rules.

Read more about Jira Automation vs Elements Copy & Sync

How to clone Jira tickets

At the heart of the app are recipes. A recipe defines the “what” (what gets copied) and the “how” (how the clone behaves and stays synchronized). Once your recipe is configured, you can trigger it in three ways:

1. Manually in work item action menu,
2. Via automation rules,
3. Via a post-function (status change).

Each method suits different needs: let’s explore them one by one.

Explore documentation on the available triggers

1. Manual cloning (On-demand mode)

Manual cloning is perfect when users want to decide when to clone Jira tickets. It’s especially useful in service or project management contexts where human judgment is required before duplication.

🔍 Use cases

• A support agent escalates a customer request to the dev team.
• A project manager makes a follow-up task from a completed one.
• A service desk analyst clones an issue into another project for tracking.

⚙️ How it works

Users trigger the cloning manually from the issue view in Jira. Once they click on the configured recipe, a new issue is generated according to the defined parameters (project, issue type, fields, etc.).

🪜 Steps to set it up

1. Go to the add-on → Recipes and click on Create a new recipe.
2. Define what should be copied (summary, description, comments, attachments…).
3. Set the synchronization rules (e.g., keep comments aligned).
4. In the Triggers section, make sure your recipe is available in the Work item action menu

5. Publish the recipe.

Now, users will see a button in the issue view to trigger the clone manually: simple, fast, and no additional configuration required.

2. Cloning via Automation (scheduled or conditional mode)

Sometimes, you need to clone Jira tickets automatically based on conditions: for example, when a specific field changes, a request reaches a certain status, or a recurring issue needs to be generated every month.

That’s where rule-triggered cloning shines.

🔍 Use cases

• Automatically clone a Jira ticket when it transitions to “Ready for Development.”
• Generate a duplicate of a monthly maintenance task on a schedule.
• Make linked issues for each new feature request.

⚙️ How it works

This method uses Jira Automation rules that call your recipe. The rule determines when duplication happens, while the recipe defines what gets cloned.

🪜 Steps to set it up

1. Configure a recipe in the add-on that defines what and how to clone.
2. In Jira Automation, set a new rule with a trigger (e.g., “Issue transitioned” or “Scheduled”).
3. Add an Action that runs your recipe.
4. Add conditions as needed (e.g., project = “Support” AND status = “Escalated”).
5. Test your rule and publish it.

Follow the detailed guide here.

This approach gives you the best of both worlds: rule-based consistency with the reliability and alignment capabilities of Elements.

3. Cloning via workflow post-function

For even tighter integration, you can trigger your recipe directly from a Jira workflow. This means the duplication happens automatically when a transition occurs: ideal for structured processes like escalations or task generation.

🔍 Use cases

• When an issue moves from “In Progress” to “Done”, clone it to a new project for QA validation.
• When a bug is reopened, automatically produce a follow-up issue in the dev backlog.
• When a change request is approved, clone it into an implementation project.

⚙️ How it works

A workflow post-function runs as part of a Jira status transition. You attach the recipe so the clone is generated the moment the transition occurs.

🪜 Steps to set it up

1. Open the workflow editor for your project.
2. Select the transition where you want the clone to happen.
3. Click on “+ Rules”.

4. Select your recipe and save the workflow.

Now, every time an issue passes through that transition, the tool will clone the Jira ticket automatically according to your defined rules.

Follow the step-by-step guide.

Final thoughts

Whether you need to clone Jira tickets on demand or automate duplication entirely, Elements Copy & Sync gives you flexibility, precision, and reliability in one tool.

So if you find yourself juggling Jira rules or manual clones, try the app for free.

You’ll not only streamline your workflows but also keep your teams perfectly aligned, one cloned ticket at a time.